MIssing the Point, Ignoring the Message and Other Fun Ways We Don't Hear God!

This morning I opened my Bible to some verses from Mark's Gospel, specifically his description of Jesus' transfiguration.  This is such an interesting experience and worthy of some reflection.  Here are the verses - Mark 9:1-9,11-13 NIV

[1] "And he said to them, “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.”

[2] "After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. [3] His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. [4] And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus.

[5] Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters---one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” [6] (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.)

[7] Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”

[8] Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.

[9] As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. [10] They kept the matter to themselves, discussing what “rising from the dead” meant.

[11] And they asked him, “Why do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?”

[12] Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah does come first, and restores all things. Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected? [13] But I tell you, Elijah has come, and they have done to him everything they wished, just as it is written about him.”

The first thing that grabbed my attention this morning was Peter interrupting Jesus, Moses and Elijah's conversation.  I mean, really? Here they are experiencing something completely super-natural, and Peter can't keep his mouth shut!  I find it funny that Mark adds the note about him not knowing what to say because they were so frightened, by way of explanation.  Peter clearly had an issue with opening his mouth and saying things without thinking them through.  I wish that didn't feel so familiar!

I believe in his heart he was probably thinking, "this is awesome, I want to make sure that we don't have to leave for a long time,  because Moses was up on the mountain for like 40 days."  He was trying to be a good servant and think about Jesus, Moses and Elijah's needs, notice he only mentioned three tents.  However, he was totally missing the main event.   I think sometimes I am too much like Peter.  I might be in a very solemn, Holy Spirit empowered moment, and I am thinking about next steps, or what needs to be said, etc.  I often miss the quiet voice of the Lord in those moments, because my own thoughts are so loud.  I need to learn to quiet my thoughts and just listen.

Secondly, I found verse ten interesting.  I might be reading into it a bit, but Mark records that the main thing they were talking about among themselves (Peter, James and John) was what Jesus meant when He said they couldn't mention this until the "Son of Man had risen from the dead".  They were trying to figure out what rising from the dead meant.  I think that is quite clear to us now, but at the time, they had no idea that Jesus was going to be crucified and die!  They were all making plans to help Him rule when He established God's kingdom on earth!  In fact, after that experience, they probably figured they were shoe-ins for the role of Jesus' trusted advisors. Despite the numerous times Jesus mentioned His impeding death, the Apostles just never understood what He was talking about, and I am sure that was part of the discussion here.  Clearly Jesus was the "Son of Man", and any mention of Him dying must have made their minds go "Tilt!"

I find that there are certain verses that I just don't want to read or hear proclaimed, things that I would rather weren't in the Bible.  I take the approach of Billy Crystal in "The Princess Bride" plugging my ears and telling everyone, "I'm not listening!"  I think that is a bit of what was happening with the Apostles here, any mention by Jesus of His death, was just politely (or not) ignored!  It didn't fit their own narrative for the way things were going to work out, and so they just refused to listen.  In Mark's Gospel, over the next few chapters, Jesus repeatedly speaks about His death, and every time they "don't understand".  

Here is a great example - Jesus is speaking of His death a third time, and check out James' and John's request immediately after Jesus finishes telling them He is going to die - Mark 10:32-37 NIV:

[32] "They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. [33] “We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, [34] who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.”

[35] Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”

[36] “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.

[37] They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”

Yep, it seems they totally missed or politely ignored everything Jesus just told them!  They jumped from "We are going up to Jerusalem" to thinking about Jesus being enthroned in Glory, as the Messiah and King, and them sitting by His side!  They apparently completely missed all Jesus' commentary about Him being beaten, spit on and killed.  To be fair, its hard to understand things when you don't have a paradigm for understanding!  I can hear someone talking about meta-physics and it sounds like Charlie Brown's teacher, "wak-a-wak-a-wak-a-wakka."  I have no understanding of the principals they are using and discussing and thus, it is lost on me.  When we read about Jesus talking about His impending death, we have the correct historical understanding, but they were not so lucky.

So this morning I am encouraged to stop my loud thoughts, and try to listen when I am hearing from the Lord, or in the midst of one of those seasons of visitation.  I don't want to miss what He is saying!  I am also encouraged to ask for understanding, for enlightenment, so that I don't miss what the Lord is saying, and what He means.  I know that I will never fully grasp the perfection of His words, but I can certainly do better than I am presently doing!  Finally, I am encouraged to look back at my life and see those things that I didn't want to hear, the things that I was trying to block out by telling Him I'm not listening!  I want to hear and respond correctly, and trying to ignore His word isn't that!

Filled With Joy and Peace by the God of Hope

On Sunday I was listening to a sermon by Bill Johnson, (Bethel - Redding, CA) and he was talking about joy and peace, in a really excellent teaching.  This morning I was reading from Roman's and came across the following verse - Romans 15:13 NIV:  "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

That is such a short verse, yet is full of much to think upon.  First, Paul calls Him the God of hope, and that is such an interesting title. When we look at the reality of God, He is all-powerful, all-knowing, eternal, and outside of time, we can understand why He is the God of hope.  He sees and knows all, is in control, and sees how everything will work out in time.  He knows the beginning, middle and the end.  He knows our hearts, our thoughts, our actions and every day of our lives.  He is never surprised, and it always working to bring about the fulfillment of His purposes and plans, which none can thwart.

Hope is always focused on the future, looking towards what is yet to be, and God knows what will be.  When He speaks about the future, He is always right for He has seen it.  When He makes promises about our future, He is always accurate, for He knows what will happen, for from His vantage point He sees it all.  Thus, when God speaks about our future, or gives us a promise, we can be filled with hope!  The only thing we don't know is when, and that is a great definition of hope: waiting for the day when the promise is fulfilled, confident that it will be fulfilled!

Coupled with the hope, Paul then writes about our being filled with joy and peace as you trust in God.  Based on my previous paragraphs, I can understand that.  If I am confident that I have received a promise from God, then my mind and heart should be at peace concerning its fulfillment, for I know the one who has made the promise.

For example, if I promise my wife that I am going to buy her a ring for her birthday (which is something I have done more than a time or two), and I have the means to buy one, my wife is not worried, or troubled about whether I will do what I promised.  She is not concerned as to whether I am able to do what I promised.  All she has to do is wait for her birthday, and as she does, she will be filled with joy and excitement, and peace regarding her promised gift.  She won't be anxious, or doubting my promise, for I have demonstrated on multiple occasions that I will buy her a ring when I promise I will.  She can have 100% confidence that my promise will be fulfilled. The only difference is that she knows the date, whereas with the Lord, we often don't know the exact date.  

Continuing on this theme, notice, also, that it is God who fills us with joy and peace.  The joy and peace are not primarily internally generated, or responses, but rather a gift of sorts from the Lord!  I will say this, if someone offers to refill my coffee cup, and I say no thanks, they usually will walk away and I won't have any fresh coffee in my cup.

If the Lord wants to fill us with joy and peace, the only reason I can think of that I wouldn't experience this in-filling is if I say no.  I might reject His joy and peace, because I am holding onto some unfulfilled expectations, or maybe I am bitter or angry about something that didn't go the way I thought it should (again expectations).  I saw a note yesterday that said comparison is the thief of joy (Teddy Roosevelt), but I don't think that is exactly right.  In this case, I think it actually unbelief that is the thief of joy.  If we look at Genesis 3:1-14, we see that it wasn't comparison that led Eve to sin, but rather the suggestion that God didn't have her best interests in mind, and her believing that lie and acting on it.  She didn't believe that God loved her and had the best plan for her. Rather than embracing the beauty of all creation around her, she suddenly was filled with a belief that God was holding something back. In other words, her belief in the goodness of God had turned to unbelief.  She could have looked all around her and view God's abundance and goodness, and instead she focused on the one thing He said she couldn't eat, believing that He was withholding something good from her. Joy in abundance was replaced with unbelief, anger, rebellion and sin.  

As I look at my present disappointments, I see something similar.  I allow my expectations, my idea of how things will work out, to color my perception of my present situation.  Rather than relying on the bed-rock of truth, that God is good, that He loves me, the He only has good plans and purposes for me, I look at those things that are different than I expected.  I am not looking at the truth, I am looking at my own ideas, my own dreams, my own plans.  At my very best I will never understand perfectly God's plans and purposes, and His perfect words spoken over my life.  I need to trust God, trust His word, and know that His plans are much bigger and  much better than I could ever dream or think.  Rather than focusing on that which I think is missing, I can choose to look at all of the incredible blessings and provision the Lord has provided both recently and in the past. I can choose to remember God's goodness and blessings, and remind myself of how good He has shown Himself to be, over and over again.

God knew we (humans) struggled with remembering the past, and with learning from our experiences, so many of the commands to Israel involved remembering and building memorial markers.  For example the feast of Passover, was to remind them of their miraculous deliverance from slavery in Egypt.  When they crossed the Jordan river into the promised land, He had them build a memorial using 12 stones that had been in the middle of the Jordan (Josh 4: 1-14).  In the same way, we can create memorial markers to remind us on the blessings of God.  When I want to be reminded of God's goodness, I can just read back over my countless journal entries and see His hand constantly providing, protecting and guiding me!  I can choose to reflect on His goodness, and on His word.  I can read and reread His promises to me, and focus on the hope they speak of, and the promise yet to be experienced and I can remind myself of His goodness and faithfulness.

Lord, I choose to believe in Your goodness and faithfulness in spite of any circumstance that is before me.  I am choosing to remember how much You love me, and all the things that You have spoken to me and over me. I choose to believe that all will be fulfilled in the perfection of Your plan, at exactly the right time!  I choose to believe that You have seen the future and are speaking with that knowledge!

I pray that You will pour into me joy and peace, as I put my trust in You.

Amen!

Identity and the Seed Principle

A bit of a different reflection this morning, but I was reminded of this at church yesterday and thought it was worth sharing again. Recently we were talking about understanding God's plans for us, and our need to participate in them to see them come to fruition.  As were were talking I was reminded of a dream I had a few years back.   In my dream I met this older women who was bent over, shriveled and just really bitter.  I asked the Lord what was wrong with her, and He said she was angry at Him, and full of bitterness.  He went on to explain that many years earlier she had received a prophetic word about her life, and she had immediately set about trying to see it come to pass.  She had spent her whole life trying to see this word fulfilled and ended up exhausted frustrated and bitter. The Lord told me she had misunderstood the purpose of a seed prophetic word.  These words are meant to give us perspective about who we will become in time, not the next day.  Seed words, like all seeds, take time to produce fruit, and it is only by tending them and nurturing them that they become really fruitful.

At that time,  I happened upon a link to a related word from Dutch Sheets which is so helpful and encouraging.

Dutch Sheets: Seeds For Becoming Who You Are

As a father to this generation, I thrive on helping others realize and fulfill God's dreams for them. When imparting life lessons to emerging world changers, I always emphasize that we can fully embrace our identity in Christ only when we willingly participate in the process God has designed for our success. It is good to desire growth, change, maturity, and results, but we frequently want results without embracing "the process" that will yield them. In the same way that we long for the "finished product," we also need to undertake and embrace a passion for the path – the journey – to our completion. We cannot expect to be overnight legends in the faith. A life of obedience necessitates conforming to God's means (His process) just as much as to His ends (the finished product). If we continue abiding and abiding and abiding, it will happen. The truth will make you free. So shall My Word be which goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:11

Seeking Permanent Change Several years ago the Lord spoke something to me that was one of the greatest revelations I've ever received. I was talking to Him about why the Word wasn't working in me. Truth be told, I was complaining about seeing a lack of fruit in my life. I'd sat under countless great teachers, listened to all the right tapes, read all the classic books, and all I heard was how I was supposed to be victorious in every area of my life. With pure heart motives for being greatly used by God, I aimed to be the best Christian I could possibly be. Oftentimes, along this quest, I would leave powerful church services and prayer meetings high on hope that I now had what I needed to finally see permanent change. But a few days later and – you guessed it – I was the same. "God, why isn't this working for me?" I cried out. I was pretty upset, feeling like a complete failure. And then He spoke to me what without a doubt has been one of the most important things I've ever learned. "Because all truth comes to you in seed form." Huh? He continued: "For those people who are teaching you – the ones who are giving you all these testimonies of what worked for them – that truth is fruit in them now. But it isn't transferred to you as fruit. It comes to you as seed. Whether it bears the same fruit in you depends on what you do with it, because all truth comes in seed form. If you do what they did and abide in My Word, that seed will grow in you also, and the truth will make you free, just as it has for them." I chewed on this for a while. I began to think of all those I knew who were clearly bearing fruit in certain areas of their lives. A former drug addict whose mind was "fried" immediately began to immerse himself in God's Word after giving his life to Christ. For hours each day he would read, meditate upon, memorize, and speak Scripture. After only a few months, not only was this young man completely free of any temptation toward drugs, his mind was completely healed. I recalled another young man who was set free from a poverty mentality, having only known extreme poverty up until that point in his life. Seeds of revelation were planted while hearing a man speak on true prosperity, being blessed by God to be a blessing. The transformation of his mind came about as he spent months identifying and meditating upon Scriptures on God's provision, sowing and reaping, etc. Before long that stronghold was broken and in its place was an incredible faith for finances. He became one of the most prosperous men I know...and one of the best givers.

The Seed Principle I could see the thread. It became what I call "the seed principle": a process of growth until fruition. Suddenly, I knew I couldn't expect freedom in problem areas of my life if I had not spent time in God's Word regarding those areas. You have to work the process. Information seeds must become fruit-producing revelation. And for that to happen, you have to tend the seed. Matthew 13, Mark 4, and Luke 8 all recount the parable of the sower in which Jesus talks in detail about this seed principle. He indicates that the maturity of the seed – His Word in us – is a growing process. And if that seed is nurtured, just like a natural seed, it will grow to fruition. Jesus summarized the process of tending the seeds of His Word as follows:

1. Hear: Receive the written or spoken Word of God (Matthew 13:23). 2. Understand: Put these new pieces of God's Word together with the knowledge of God we already have for greater revelation (Matthew 13:23). 3. Accept: Receive and embrace with assent and obedience (Mark 4:20). 4. Hold Fast: In our tending to the seed (Luke 8:15).

Aborting The Process Jesus also mentions a valuable truth of which we all need to be acutely aware as we tend to our seed: whether through fear, financial stress, lust...satan's primary goal is to get us to abort the process so he can steal the seed. His attacks will no doubt be well-timed, sneaking in at our most vulnerable moments in life. Despite the storms that will come to disrupt and challenge our maturation, we must strengthen ourselves in the Lord and "hold fast [to] the confession of our hope" (1 Samuel 30:6; Hebrews 10:23). If you continuously yield to the work of the Master Potter, He will give grace to help us in our time of need and bring to completion the good work that He's begun in you (see Hebrews 4:16; Philippians 1:6).

Nurturing the Word In summary, when we persist in nurturing the Word of God, revelation will come to enlighten and bring truth to us (see Ephesians 1:17-18). If attended to (see Proverbs 4:20), guarded (see Proverbs 4:23), continued in (see John 15; James 1:25), and meditated upon (see Joshua 1:8; Psalm 1:1-3), the Word of God will bear the fruit He has promised. Galatians 6:9 offers the perfect encouragement: "Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary." Anchor yourself in God's Word. Surround yourself with life-givers who will pray with you, for you, and hold you accountable to the standard God's called you to. Continue to abide in Him, abide in His Word, and you will be set free to become whom God has made you to be, and experience the power of your identity in Christ.

Dutch Sheets
Dutch Sheets Ministries
Website: www.dutchsheets.org

Does God Love Us And Enjoy Us When We Are Sinners?

Yesterday morning I was thinking about an interesting question - does God enjoy us and love us when we are sinners?  It might seem like the focus of this would be to lessen our concern for sin, but my real focus is on our identity and how God responds to us.  To properly consider this question, I think I need to go back to the definition of sin that I am using.  The words for sin most often used in the Greek and Hebrew are hamartia and chata, both of which basically mean to miss, miss the mark, to miss the path.  Their secondary meanings include sin, and moral fault or failure, but the primary meaning is to miss the mark.  I like to use the bulls-eye analogy, if you hit the bulls-eye you have hit the mark, if you miss the bulls-eye by an inch or by six feet, you have missed the bulls-eye.  So my definition of sin is missing the mark, and small sins *(missing by an inch) or big sins (missing by six feet) are still sins.  The only person who ever lived a perfect sinless life is Jesus.  Everyone else is a sinner.

If we consider the definition of the bulls-eye, I believe it to be what Jesus demonstrated, perfect obedience to the Father in every word and every action!  He was the perfect representation of the Father (Heb 1:3) and He said that every word He said came from the Father (John 14:24), and everything He did was directed by the Father (John 6:38).  When we look at Jesus, we are effectively seeing the Father (John 14:9)!  If this is the definition of the Bulls-eye, then I can see how often and in how may ways I sin.  Much of everyday I am unaware of God's words and direction, and thus must be missing the mark.  I might get lucky and hit the bulls-eye with my eyes closed, but more often than not I will miss.  If I am unaware of God's direction and words, I am going to sin.

Next we need to understand that God has made a plan to free us from the penalty of our sins, by sending Jesus to pay for them all!  He did this while we were still sinners, as Paul writes in Romans 5:8 NIV: "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."  Notice the motivation of God was love, WHILE we were still sinners.  He did this for ALL our sins, the misses by one inch, and the misses by six feet.  Paul again writes in Colossians 2:13-14 NIV:  "When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, [14] having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross."  Again, while we were sinners, He forgave us, and cancelled the penalty and punishment through taking it upon Himself!  He purchased all our debt!

So, if we go back to the original question, "Does God enjoy us and love us when we are sinners?", I think we must answer yes to the second part of the question.  He definitely loves us when we are sinners!!  His whole plan of salvation was birthed while we were still sinners, and it was because of His love that He did this!  As we understand from John 3:16-17 NIV: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. [17] For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."

So the next question is whether God enjoys us when we are sinners.  Again, lets step and look at the fact that God knows us perfectly.  He knows we are sinners, and yet He loved us in our sin.  I think we can safely say He Loves us in our sin, for none of us are perfectly hitting the bulls-eye every day of our life, and thus if He loves us at any point of our life, He must be loving us while we are sinners!  I believe it is possible to love someone and not enjoy them, so that is really the question at hand.  We learn from Psalm 139 that God knows us intimately, and created us exactly as we are, and is aware of every thought and every word, and every deed.  In fact it says that every day of our life has been written in His book, already!  In other words He knows everything about us, everything we have done, or will do, everything we will say, or think, every day, and in spite of this He loves us.  Paul writes the following in his letter to the Ephesians 1:4-5 NIV: "For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love [5] he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will-"

Isn't that amazing, He chose us in accordance with His pleasure!  To be clear, the Greek word used here is eudokia, and it is defined as follows:

1) will, choice
     a) good will, kindly intent, benevolence
2) delight, pleasure, satisfaction
3) desire
     a) for delight in any absent thing easily produces longing for it

We are chosen, with His kindly intent, His delight, His pleasure and His desire!  He did this while we were sinners, but with His plan for our salvation already in action.  He loves us!  He wants us to be with Him!  He understands our human limitations because He created us! He recognizes that we will all sin, and yet He is undeterred.  He gave us every gift, every talent, every ability, knows everything we will ever do and say, and He chose us.

One of My favortite authors, John Piper, wrote the following:

"God is most glorified in you when you are most satisfied in him. That’s the shortest summary of what we mean by Christian Hedonism. If that is true, then there is no conflict between your greatest exhilaration and God’s greatest glorification."

"In fact, not only is there no conflict between your happiness and God’s glory, but his glory shines in your happiness, when your happiness is in him. And since God is the source of greatest happiness, and since he is the greatest treasure in the world, and since his glory is the most satisfying gift he could possibly give us, therefore it is the kindest, most loving thing he could possibly do — to reveal himself, and magnify himself and vindicate himself for our everlasting enjoyment."

This is really some amazing stuff.  God is most glorified when we are exhilarated!  Think of it this way, if you give a child a gift at Christmas, and they are overjoyed when they open it, and then spend the next 4 days playing with that gift, you are aware of the perfect gift you have given.  Not only that, but others are aware that you gave your child the perfect gift. Your child is so grateful and thankful that it comes out in their exuberance and enjoyment!  If the child uses that gift in ways that you hadn't thought or intended, do you suddenly hate them??  Are you angry with them if they accidentally break the gift while enjoying it??  If you give them a bike, but they haven't learned to ride one yet, are you angry and judgmental if they can't immediately ride it??  THe answer is clearly now to each of these.  Rather, as the gift giver, we give gifts because of our love for our child.  We take pleasure in their enjoyment of the gifts we give them.  We love them even if they stop playing with the toy!

God loves us!  He loves us in spite of our imperfections!  He loves us in spite of our sins.  He chose us for His good pleasure, His delight!  Our actions are all known ahead of time, while the previous statements were true, thus our actions and sins can't negate them!   Thus, we must believe that God actually loves us and enjoys us (takes pleasure in us) while we are sinners.  If this is not true, than I can safely say that God never loved me or loves me or enjoys me ever, for every day I miss the mark.  I am led to believe that all the previous statements about God's love ARE true, and thus He must love me and enjoy me even while I am a sinner.

My point in this discussion is to bring hope and the light of truth to those that are under the false belief that God hates them, or God is angry with them because of their sins.  Religion would have us believe that our sin causes us to be cast away from God and can somehow undo everything that He has already done for us, while we were still sinners.  Religion would have us believe that some sins are so bad that God could never love us or accept us.  Religion would have us believe that we must change our behavior to ever be loved or acceptable by the Lord.  All of these are untrue if we look at the truth of God's love as described by Jesus (and recorded by John) and later by Paul.

My prayer for us all is that we come to understand God's amazing love, His pleasure in us, His desire for us to be His sons and daughters, and His amazing Good News!

Amen

Gratefulness for Forgiveness, Rather than Shame Due to Sin

This morning I am reflecting upon a rather lengthy section of Luke's Gospel. As I was reading through these passages something Jesus said caught my attention and I want to spend some time mulling his statement over.  Here are the verses - Luke 7:36-50 NIV:

[36] "When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. [37] A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. [38] As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.

[39] When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is---that she is a sinner.”

[40] Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.” “Tell me, teacher,” he said.

[41] “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. [42] Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”

[43] Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”

“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.`

[44] Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. [45] You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. [46] You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. [47] Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven---as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”

[48] Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

[49] The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”

[50] Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

I love this story for several reasons, but the phrase that caught my attention this morning was Jesus' statement, "But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”  Isn't that an interesting statement??  Clearly, Jesus is tying His statement to the situation at hand, as well as the story He told.  I don't think we can make a spiritual principle out of this statement, but we should look at the underlying truth.

Jesus is associating the woman's expressive love, with her understanding of her being forgiven.  It is interesting to note that He actually didn't forgive her sins, until later.  She had clearly already had some sense of His love and compassion, His willingness to forgive, for she came to Him and was very vulnerable.  I think we must remember that although the Holy Spirit had not been poured out yet at Pentecost, that He was still present and moving upon people.  I believe that it was His invitation to this woman that caused her to have faith in Jesus, in His willingness to forgive her.  I believe that it was the Holy Spirit giving her courage to approach Jesus in the midst of a banquet of people who knew her story. That strength and courage must have come from faith.

Secondly, as I was reflecting yesterday, there is something important to our remembering whee we came from, and part of that is remembering our sins and  the forgiveness of those sins.  As Jesus states, their is a correlation between understanding our forgiveness and our love for Him.  I think this is one of the reasons that the Saints were always aware of their own sinfulness, not just because they saw how perfect Jesus was, but they also saw how much the Lord had forgiven them.

It seems to me that we have an unhealthy perspective on sin these days, and it relates to our shame about our sinfulness.  I love the simple reality that Brother Lawrence expressed when he asked for forgiveness, He would say,  "I am used to do so: I shall never do otherwise, if I am left to myself."  In other words, he recognized that he, along with all of us, was a sinner, and left to himself that is exactly what he would do, sin.  He went on to say that it is only through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, and through constant relationship and embracing God's love for himself that He was able to do God's will. To me, while it seems dark, this is a healthy perspective to have concerning sin.  We are constantly trying to become Christ-like, and yet we are unable to do so perfectly.  God completely understands our nature, and expects nothing less, and thus extends forgiveness and mercy.  He is not surprised by our sinfulness, He expects it, but rather than allow us to remain in our sin, He has made a way for us to receive forgiveness and maintain our relationship with Him.

As we see in the story of the wayward son in Luke 15, the Father welcomes the wayward son with open arms, love, forgiveness and restoration of relationship and identity. This is what the Father extends to us when we come to Him in our repentance!  He knows our sin, yet He loves us!

The enemy would try to keep us from God's love, and from experiencing forgiveness, by convincing us of our shame concerning our sinfulness. He tries to convince us that we are the only person that struggles with not doing God's will, not living our life in perfect unity with the Father!  The enemy wants us to expect judgment and punishment at the hands of our Father.  The enemy has worked hard to foster that attitude in the church, so that rather than welcoming sinners (for we are all sinners) we reject them and judge them. We are taught by religion to hold up a false image of ourselves to those that we meet, proclaiming our righteousness, as if we had some ability to affect that in our lives.  Paul made it quite clear that our righteousness is only possible through faith in Jesus (Rom 3: 22-28). The church is too often like the Pharisee in this story, judging the sinful person, and being appalled at their presence and audacity to come and worship God!  We tend to label people with their sin, judging them like we have never sinned ourselves, thinking of ourselves as better than them.  Oh Lord, forgive us!

This morning, I am reminded of God's great love, His mercy and His forgiveness that He has extended to me!  I am reminded that He waits for me to turn towards Him!  I am reminded that His love for me includes His understanding that I am a sinner, and in spite of that He welcomes me with open arms.  I am encouraged to look at my life an my actions, to make sure that I am representing the heart of the Lord to all those I meet, especially to the "sinners",  for that includes us all!  I am stirred in my heart to love God, to be amazed at His abundance and mercy, His compassion and forgiveness! I am reminded to be grateful for His forgiveness, rather than ashamed at my weakness and sin.

Amen!

Days of Remembrance - How I Got Here

This morning I am reflecting briefly on a few verses from Leviticus 23:39,42-43 NIV:

[39] “ 'So beginning with the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have gathered the crops of the land, celebrate the festival to the Lord for seven days; the first day is a day of sabbath rest, and the eighth day also is a day of sabbath rest."

[42] "Live in temporary shelters for seven days: All native-born Israelites are to live in such shelters [43] so your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in temporary shelters when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.' ”

I was reflecting on these verses yesterday and when I opened my bible, it just seemed that I needed to spend some more time on these verses.  The concept is quite simple, remember where you came from, what your life was like, what the Lord has done for you!  The Lord initiated this festival, and wanted the Israelites to celebrate this every year, so they wouldn't forget their miraculous release from Egypt and their 40 years in the wilderness.

It is interesting that the command was to live in temporary shelters, as a way of reminding themselves of their history.  It was during that time that they were transformed from a bunch of slaves into a nation.  It was a significant time in understanding their identity as God's chosen people.  It was a time of being led by the presence of God, in the form of a pillar of Fire or Cloud.  They knew God's manifest presence, and they learned to move when He moved.  It is my belief that the Lord was calling them to remember that season, so that in the midst of their settled lives, they were able to understand God's ways and leading.

I know for myself, sometimes I can get into a rut of repetition, and lose my sense of God's direction and guidance in my life.  I can settle in and just go about my day to day life, which does include prayer and scripture, but which does not challenge me to grow or be ready to respond to God's new direction.  I can think that this is my life, and be unwilling to change course, or living situation.  The Lord does not lead us into change and times of transition just for fun, but He is always about helping us to mature and become who He sees we are, and says we are.  Our sedentary life-styles can cause us to lose focus, to forget who we are, and to be unwilling to change.

I am also reminded of how different their lives were, going from slavery in brick factories of Egypt, into the wilderness where God provided food daily.  He gave them the covenant of the Law, established the Tabernacle and practices of their religion during that time in the desert.  He Forged them into a nation that was able to conquer the Promised Land, city by city.  Previously they were slaves with no leadership, no real sense of their national identity, or even knowledge of how to worship God, and God established all of that in 40 years.  When I think about that transformation, I am amazed, for I know how hard it is for me to change.

Finally, I am encouraged to look back at my life, and see all the things that God has done!  As I look back I see the significant difference, the leading down paths of abundant blessings, the maturation, the seasons of change and transition, and mostly the increasing understanding of my identity in Him.  I see His hand at work constantly in my life.

As an anlogy, I am reminded of what it is like to carve something out of wood.  There is an initial idea, and then slowly I work the wood removing large sections with a band-saw, then sanding and carving down other areas and finally refining the shape with sand paper and polisher.  In my life, I see so many areas that have been hewn, or sanded or polished by Him.  I am certainly not finished, but I know He is at work, refining me, and I welcome His direction and guidance, for I know I am being formed in His image.

It is good for me to remember the change, the way I used to think, the way I used to be.  It is good to be reminded of His gracious blessing, His forgiveness and mercy, His compassion and gentleness.  It is good to look back at the journey of my life, seeing how the Lord has led me and guided me.  It is good to remember, and to be grateful for all He has accomplished.  It is good to remember who I was, and to reflect on who I am, and how I got here!!

Thank You Lord for Your abundant blessings and constant leading and invitation to relationship!

Amen!

Acting Like We Love Each Other!

This morning I am reflecting on a few verses from Paul's Letter to the Ephesians 4:1-7,11-13 NIV:

[1] "As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. [2] Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. [3] Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. [4] There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called ; [5] one Lord, one faith, one baptism; [6] one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."

[7] "But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it."

[11] "So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, [12] to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up [13] until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ."

What an excellent set of verses to read, reflect and embrace.  We are called to love one another, as Christ loved us, and as such Paul's encouragements in the following verses, lay out nicely what that looks like.  We are called to humility, gentleness, patience, loving endurance, and peace!  If we just dealt with each other with the idea that we were one big loving family, we would hopefully experience more life, joy, and peace.  Imagine if we treated one another and everyone as if we loved them!  What if we treated them as if they were our favorite person??

I am reminded of a story Therese of Lisieux tells of herself, from her Autobiography, "The Story of a Soul":

"A holy nun of our community annoyed me in all that she did; the devil must have had something to do with it, and he it was undoubtedly who made me see in her so many disagreeable points. I did not want to yield to my natural antipathy, for I remembered that charity ought to betray itself in deeds, and not exist merely in the feelings, so I set myself to do for this sister all I should do for the one I loved most. Every time I met her I prayed for her, and offered to God her virtues and merits. I felt that this was very pleasing to Our Lord, for there is no artist who is not gratified when his works are praised, and the Divine Artist of souls is pleased when we do not stop at the exterior, but, penetrating to the inner sanctuary He has chosen, admire its beauty." 

"I did not rest satisfied with praying for this Sister, who gave me such occasions for self-mastery, I tried to render her as many services as I could, and when tempted to answer her sharply, I made haste to smile and change the subject, for the Imitation says: “It is more profitable to leave everyone to his way of thinking than to give way to contentious discourses.” And sometimes when the temptation was very severe, I would run like a deserter from the battlefield if I could do so without letting the Sister guess my inward struggle."" 

"One day she said to me with a beaming face: “My dear Soeur Thérèse, tell me what attraction you find in me, for whenever we meet, you greet me with such a sweet smile.” Ah! What attracted me was Jesus hidden in the depths of her soul— Jesus who maketh sweet even that which is most bitter."

I found this story quite amusing, when I first read it, as it reveals the true heart of St. Therese, desiring to treat all with humility, love, patience, and gentleness, but struggling mightily to do so, with this particular nun. She chose to treat her as if she were her favorite, and in the end the sister thought that she was Therese's favorite!  Oh that all we meet would think that we loved them!

Continuing on, Paul reminds us that Christ gave to us grace that was meant to be used to build up the body!   We should all be concerned about the maturity of the Body of Christ, of those relationships and commitments amongst ourselves.  We should realize that there are those that are called to help us to grow and mature, and become one.  We must have a bigger perspective than our own needs and wants, but instead look to the greater Body of Christ, desiring that we walk in the whole measure of the fullness of Christ Jesus, which we are far from realizing yet.

We are called love one another, as Christ Jesus loves us (John 13:34).  This loving concern, this gentle and humble care, this loving endurance, this peace and forgiveness, this every effort is how we build each other up, how we bear witness to the world that we are followers of Jesus!

Lord, help us all!  Lord, help us to treat each other as if each was the one we loved most!

More Than Just a Name!

This morning I am reflecting once again on one of my favorite stories in John's Gospel, the story of the man born blind, who is healed by Jesus.  Here are teh verses - John 9:1-12,35-38 NIV:

[1] "As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. [2] His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

[3] “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. [4] As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. [5] While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

[6] After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes. [7] “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.

[8] His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn't this the same man who used to sit and beg?”
[9] Some claimed that he was. Others said, “No, he only looks like him.”

But he himself insisted, “I am the man.”

[10] “How then were your eyes opened?” they asked.

[11] He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.”

[12] “Where is this man?” they asked him.

“I don't know,” he said.


[35] Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

[36] “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”

[37] Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”

[38] Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. "


The one thought that struck me this morning was that the man knew it was Jesus who had healed him, even though we have no record of Jesus introducing himself, or of any engagement that would have let the man know His name.  I know that we don't get every word that was spoken, recorded in the Gospels, so it is not a big issue that the man knew Jesus' name. I just found myself thinking about the fact that Jesus wasn't satisfied that he knew His name, but instead, as we see in verses 35-38, that He wanted relationship with the man.

This is my constant theme, that which flows out of every Gospel story, Jesus as a representative of the Father, expressing their desire for relationship with us!  This is such a mystery, that God, the creator of the universe, wants relationship with me!  It is just impossible to fully comprehend.  Nonetheless, I am eternally grateful that this is the case!

As I have written many times before, if He wants relationship with us, then we must be able to actually have a real relationship with him, at a personal level.  We must be able to have regular interaction, regular conversation and exchange of ideas, thoughts and even feelings.  We must be able to have some sort of interactive engagement.  This relationship, at least for me, is founded in prayer, in my daily interactions with Him.  I am not nearly as conscious of His willingness to engage with me relationally throughout the day as I should be, yet most days I spend some time in communication.

I love the fact that He lives inside me, that I don't need to travel to some distant city, or even make my way to the local church to converse with Him.  I am so grateful that He is closer than a phone-call away.  He Loves me and is with me always, whether I am aware of it or not.  He is engaged at all times with me, and I am only slightly aware of this fact most of the time.

Lord, I pray that I might be more and more engaged in daily communication, all day long!  Help me to understand Your love for me, Your thoughts for me, Your desire for me!  Help me to believe and worship You, as I encounter You in my life!  I don't just want to know Your name only, I want to know You!

Testing, Trials and Pop-Quizzes

This morning I am reflecting on some verses from James' letter.  He wrote it to the Twelve Tribes, and thus was primarily writing to the Jewish believers of His day, and as such assumes his readers have some Jewish understanding.  The verses I am reading are quite straight-forward and don't really require much historical perspective.  Here are the verses - James 1:2-8 NIV:

[2] "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, [3] because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. [4] Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. [5] If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. [6] But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. [7] That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. [8] Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do."

There are several translations to the word in verse 2 that has been translated trials, (the majority of the times it is translated temptations) but the testing spoken of in verse 3 gives us the context to rightly translate this trials to mean testing or proving, as in taking a test or a pop-quiz to show what you know and what you don't.

Isn't it interesting that regular testing is part of our faith walk?  I would have preferred to have left all my testing behind when I finished school, but the Lord is about growing us and maturing us, and part of that process is the testing and proving we encounter daily.  James writes that these trials are diverse (many kinds) and the word he uses could be translated various colors.  It is not like each of us will be given the standardized test, and we will will all receive it the same day.  We are all uniquely in relationship with the Lord, and He deals with each of us one on one.  I love that we each get personalized tutoring by our teacher - Holy Spirit (John 14:26)- and that He is about helping us to mature and be complete, not lacking anything (verse 4 above).

Going back to verse three, the testing and proving of our faith is supposed to produce perseverance.  This is the point, we need to learn to hold on, to maintain our position, to stand strong.  Muscles are only built stronger by much work against some resistance.  In the same way, apparently our faith requires testing which produces perseverance, which makes us stronger in our faith, even mature.  It seems that most of the time, my first thought when I encounter a trial is to wonder if I am being punished.  However, if I look at the purpose of testing described above, then I should realize that I have an opportunity to prove or strengthen my faith, and that will result in maturity.  What a difference an internal change of mind-set could have!

I remember when I was in school, there were certain classes that I excelled in, and I was never worried if the teacher said we were going to have a pop-quiz because I knew I would do fine.   There were certain teachers that I knew I clicked with, teachers who seemed to connect with me and help me learn better than others. That is what we have in the Holy Spirit, someone who knows us better than anyone else in the world.  He knows exactly what we need to learn, and how we will best learn it.  He isn't interested in rote learning or memorization, He wants us to really learn to fully assimilate those things He is teaching us.

I love the fact that James then continues on and says if we lack wisdom (understanding about why and what we learning) that we should ask and God will provide.  Going back to my teacher analogy, this is like us asking the teacher for help understanding something.  I remember as a child I would be afraid to ask the teacher to re-explain something.  I am not sure why I was afraid, but I rarely asked for help.  I would most likely wait for later when I could ask my mom or dad, who I knew loved me and would be willing to help me.  James notes that God will give us wisdom generously, without finding fault in us, or in our ability to learn, etc.  He wants us to succeed because He has plans and purposes for us, and our maturity is one of those things that helps us to bear more fruit, to accomplish more.  The key we need to remember is that if we ask, He will answer, but we need to be listening so as not to miss His answer!  He will give us the wisdom we need, and He will give generously.  He wants us to succeed!

Finally when we ask, we must believe or have faith that He will answer.  That is such a simple concept, if we ask we should believe that He will answer!  He will not ignore us, or treat us with contempt.  He won't belittle, or abandon, rather He will answer.  His answer will be what we need.  We don't need to ask for a second opinion, or go to another teacher, rather we should be listening and applying what He tells us.  One of the reasons I pray and journal regularly, is to help me listen and apply what He shows me.  He is a great teacher, and a great Father who wants us to succeed!

So today I am encouraged to  change my mindset about the trials, tests and pop-quizzes that come my way. I choose to believe that God is helping me to grow in maturity, in perseverance and ultimately wants me to bear much fruit!  I know that He loves me and that He is willing to help me in all things!

Thank You Lord!

Who Is Your King?

This morning I find myself reflecting on an unusual theme, at least for me. The context is the questioning and  judgment of Jesus by Pilate, and the real question is, 'Who is your King?'

Here are the surrounding verses - John 19:6-16 NIV:  (Jesus had just been flogged and beaten and was dressed in purple and had a crown of thorns thrust upon his head and was presented to the people)

[6] "As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!”

But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.”

[7] The Jewish leaders insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.”

[8] When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, [9] and he went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. [10] “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don't you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”

[11] Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”

[12] From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jewish leaders kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.”

[13] When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge's seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). [14] It was the day of Preparation of the Passover; it was about noon.

“Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews.

[15] But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!”

“Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked.

“We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered.

[16] Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. So the soldiers took charge of Jesus."

This scene has always seemed central to me, and was always part of our Holy Week readings, growing up Catholic.  The focus was the passion and death of Jesus, but there was always this underlying theme of Pilate and his interactions with the Jewish leaders and the people.  It reads almost like a good courtroom drama, with occasional camera cuts to the crowd outside, protesting and chanting.  The different movies that have been made about Jesus, and His passion and death, have always done a good job of portraying these scenes. However, this morning I found myself focused on verses 14 and 15, specifically on the response of the chief priests and people.

Pilate presents Jesus and says, "Here is your king", and the people shout, "Take Him away, Crucify Him!"

It is interesting to note that barely a week previous, Jesus had arrived in Jerusalem sitting on the back of a donkey, with people shouting "blessed is the king of Israel!" How quickly they changed their minds and turned their backs on Him.  They had welcomed Him to Jerusalem, thinking that He would restore Israel, set them free from Roman rule, and when He didn't succeed (in their eyes), they Immediately did a complete flip-flop and now found themselves proclaiming Caesar as their king.

I found myself wondering if this final rejection of Jesus was in some way responsible for the coming revolt and destruction of the temple?  I found myself wondering if their decision that day was final, in their lives?  I found myself wondering how God looked (and looks)  upon those that reject Him? I found myself wondering if I sometimes have the same response when the Lord doesn't do the thing I want Him to do, do I turn my back on Him?

I think I can answer a few of those questions, starting with how God looks upon those that reject Him.  Jesus said while on the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34).  Here is one of the best example of God's forgiveness and mercy, for everything Jesus spoke was at the Father's direction, even up to His last words.  Jesus is asking for forgiveness for those that crucified Him, those that condemned Him, those that chose Caesar over Him!  He is asking for their forgiveness, knowing full well that they didn't comprehend everything, nor fully grasp who He was.  Even His own disciples and apostles didn't fully comprehend until later what He had accomplished.

Second, we find 50 days later at Pentecost that 3000 of the people in Jerusalem become believers, and I have to believe that some of those people were present that day to join their voices to the chants for Jesus' crucifixion.  God clearly didn't hold their rejection of Him, against them, instead He extended mercy, grace and forgiveness.

Thirdly, the coming revolt in 66AD was fomenting for many years, and this rejection of Jesus, and selection of Caesar as their king, was not linked (at least by any historians) to the revolt.  The Jews had revolted previously many times  ( e.g. Maccabean revolt was in 167-160BC) and revolted afterwards as well, for the revolt of 66 was the first of three revolts against the Romans, the other two being in 115-117AD and 132-136AD.

Finally, I know in my life there have been many times where I found myself rejecting the Lord, His direction, His guidance and at times even questioning my relationship.  Regardless, He continues to extend mercy to me every day!  He always forgives, always loves me and welcomes me back!  He does not hold my sins against me, and does not reject me! He has received the worst treatment possible from those He Loves and never changes His response.  He came to save sinners and in spite of my sins, He extends salvation to me!

Thus, my question today, and every day is who is my King?  This question can be distilled into many other related questions. Will I follow Him?  Will I live my life for Him?  Will I claim Him as my King, even if I don't see the answers I seek?  Will I  choose to worship Him?   Will I choose to love Him?  Will I stand up for Him?   Good questions - and ones I should reflect upon and let my life reflect my answer!